


What Hides in the Dark

by Selina_2000



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/M, Werewolf Tim Drake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:33:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27301237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selina_2000/pseuds/Selina_2000
Summary: Your boyfriend, Tim Drake, is a werewolf, and when he escapes, it’s up to you to make sure he’s safe.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Reader, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Reader, Tim Drake/Reader
Kudos: 13





	What Hides in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from a anonymous user on tumblr. Feel free to send your own requests [to me](https://dcnatural.tumblr.com/).   
> I had this posted on my tumblr for a long time and I have no idea why I didn't post it here. Anyway, Happy Halloween.

The full moon was high in the Gotham sky, it’s pale silver glow illuminating the city bellow. The streets were silent at this time of the night, save for the occasional rumbling of a passing car. Most law abiding citizens would never, under any circumstance, leave their houses after the sun disappeared below the horizon. The nights belonged to the criminals and the vigilantes.

And to you. You didn’t belong to any of the two categories, but you still had your place in the darkened streets. Always lurking somewhere in the middle of the good and the bad, you wandered by this cursed city way past midnight, looking for the beings of shadow and fear. If the vigilantes kept the city safe from thieves and murderers, you kept it safe from demons and monsters.

Despite sharing the cover that the darkness offered, the worlds of nature and magic barely ever crossed paths. It wasn’t your duty to fight serial killers, and it wasn’t Batman’s duty to send ghosts back to where they had come from. You didn’t even know if he acknowledge the parallel battle happening in the city.

Your mission had been passed to generation after generation of your family. Your bloodline possessed the rare ability to see behind the mask of reality, and considered their sacred duty to keep the supernatural at bay. You lived to protect the others from what they couldn’t see.

But sometimes, fate had a funny way of uniting people. Murderer by day, werewolf by night, Kyle Abbot had proven himself a menace in all forms. It was investigating Abbot that you first ran into Robin. The chemistry was explosive. You didn’t believe in love at first sight before, but it was the only way to explain what had happened in the moment your gaze crossed his. 

The two of you had a lot in common: both were warriors fighting the battle against the darkness, living a secret life surrounded by mysteries and lies. Neither of you had many friends, and in each other, you and him found companionship. You should have known better. You should have seen it coming. For you knew that no good things happened when magic and nature mingled.

During the fight, the werewolf’s claws pierced Robin’s suit, scratching the skin. After the police had Abbot under custody, you immediately treated Robin’s wounds. But it was too late, the damage had been done: in the next full moon, he would be transformed into a wolf and there was nothing you could do to stop that. In a strange way, his new condition brought the two of you closer. You began to meet him daily, going out every day after class. He trusted you with his real identity, and you trusted him with yours.

In the days leading to his first shifting, you arranged a safe space, a place he could stay when his bones cracked to accommodate his new form, and his hair grew to cover his whole body. You kept Tim company during the full moons. You protected him and prevented him from doing harm to others. Even in his irrational wolf form, he began to bond with you: his animal self becoming loyal to you.

But even the best engineered cages sometimes fail, and that's how you found yourself running around Gotham, following the trail of bloody footprints staining the gray concrete. You found him cornered against the wall of a dead end, a huge wolf with reddish-brown fur, jaw open, revealing the sharp fangs, and claws ready to attack. Blocking the entrance of the alley, there was a man wearing a black suit with a blue, bird-shaped design in his chest. He wielded escrima sticks, ready to defend himself from the creature.

“Dick!”, you shouted, not needing to see the man’s face to recognize him as Tim’s adoptive brother. “Don’t hurt him!”

Nightwing turned, and the moment his eyes left the wolf, the animal jumped on top of him, it’s weight bringing him down.

“Tim! No!”, you commanded, voice slightly unsure. _What if he doesn’t listen to me?_

But he did. The creature’s head snapped in your direction, eyes glowing yellow like embers. A thick thread of saliva hang from its open mouth, dripping into Nightwing’s cheek.

“Tim”, you tried again, testing if he was indeed reacting to your words. The wolf blinked expectantly. “Please, I need you to back away.”

There was a beat of silence, but then he slowly let go of his older brother. You smiled and nodded at Tim, and gave a tentative step towards him. His fur bristled up and quicker than your eyes could register, he ran past you, disappearing between the buildings and cars.

Dick pushed himself back onto his feet. “What did you do to my brother?”, he inquired, anger making his skin burn red. He towered over you, and your heartbeat quickened. 

“What?”, you exclaimed. _How dare he blame me for this?_ “How is this my fault?”

He poked your chest with a gloved finger. “He starts dating a witch and suddenly he became a werewolf? I’m pretty sure it’s your fault.”

“ _I’m not a witch”_ , you said through gritted teeth. “I can use magic, but I’m not a witch.”

“It doesn’t matter. Just undo whatever you have done.”

“I did nothing!” And then realization hit you. “You didn’t know, did you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Tim never told you or Bruce that he is a werewolf.”

A unreadable expression took over Dick’s face. “How long? How long has he been like this?”

Your lips curved in a pitiful smile. “Six months. It’s kind of what brought us together.”

He closed his eyes, rubbing a finger in his forehead. You had noticed Bruce did the same thing when thinking. Finally, he sighed. “I’m sorry I accused you. But we need to find him, before someone hurts him.”

“Or he hurts someone”, you completed.

* * *

It took half an hour for you to find Tim again. For a large animal, he was surprisingly good at hiding. Fallen leaves in shades of brown, red, yellow and orange covered the ground of Robinson Park. Chewing noises came from a bush, and you ran the remaining distance. Crouching on the grass, the wolf devoured a blood covered bunny.

You approached him carefully. “Timmy”, you called and once more, he stopped what he was doing to look at you. You took a deep breath and kneeled on the ground, so your face would be level with his. Your actions were measured, you were afraid of scaring him away once more. 

His animalistic gaze held yours and you dared to reach a hand out. It hang awkwardly in air for a second, before Tim moved forward, burying his snout on your palm and licking it greedily. You raised your other hand to caress his ears and he barked, seemingly at ease.

“Good boy”, you whispered.

Nightwing handed you the collar and leash he had picked over during your search. And while you hated having to use those on Tim, you had to agree it was the best way to bring him back to your hideout. 

Making Tim walk back into the cage was complicated, as he would often try to race after passing cars or pick fights with street dogs, but after a long journey, you and Dick managed to successfully secure Tim inside it. You checked the padlock twice, and cast a spell just to be sure, before turning your back to the cage.

“I should go”, Dick said, running the back of his hand along his forehead to clean the droplets of sweat that had formed during the mission. “I’ll talk with him tomorrow.”

“Try not to judge too much. I know it’s complicated and unusual, but he’s still the same person he was before”, you told him before waving your goodbyes. 

Once Dick was gone, you sat on the wooden rocking chair you usually used and stayed awake until the sun rose. You always hated seeing the transition: the cries of pain that escaped Tim’s throat made your heart break. He blinked once, then twice, his brain adjusting to the return of his human senses.

“Hey, you”, you said, rising to open the door.

“Hey”, Tim answered, his voice sore and sleepy. He stumbled onto his feet and hugged you, head resting on your shoulder. “Thank you.”

“What for?”, you inquired.

“For being here. For helping me.”

You smiled and kissed him. “It’s you and me, Tim Wolf. You and me against the world.”


End file.
